Text A: «THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION»
The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. Itoccupies about 1/6 of the Earthsurface. The country is situated in Eastern Europe, Northern and Central Asia. Itstotal area is over 17 million square km.
Our land is washed by 12 seas, most of which are the seas of three oceans: the Arctic, the Atlantic and the Pacific. In the south and in the west the countryborders on fourteen countries. It also has a sea-border with the USA.
There is hardly a country in the world where such a great variety of flora and fauna can be found as in our land. Our country hasnumerous forests, plains and steppes, taiga and tundra, highlands and deserts. The highest mountains in our land are the Altai, the Urals and the Caucasus. There are over two thousand rivers in the Russian Federation. The longest of them are the Volga, the Ob, the Yenisei, the Lena and the Amur. Our land is also rich in various lakes with the deepest lake in the world, the Baikal, included.
On the Russian territory there are 11 time zones. The climate conditions are rather different: from arctic and moderate to continental and subtropical. Our country is one of the richest in natural resources countries in the world: oil, natural gas, coal, different ores, ferrous and non-ferrous metals and other minerals.
The Russian Federation is a multinationalstate. It comprises many national districts, several autonomous republics and regions. The population of the country is about 140 million people.
Moscow is the capital of our Homeland. It is the largest political, scientific, cultural and industrial center of the country and one of the most beautiful cities on the globe. Russian is the official language of the state. The national symbols of the Russian Federation are a white-blue-redbanner and a double-headed eagle.
The Russian Federation is a constitutional republic headed by the President. The country government consists of three branches:legislative, executive andjudicial. The President controls only the executive branch — the government, but not the Supreme Court and Federal Assembly.
The legislative power belongs to theFederal Assembly comprising two chambers:the Council of Federation (upper Chamber) and theState Duma (lower Chamber). Each chamber is headed by the Speaker. The executive power belongs to the government (the Cabinet of Ministers) headed by the Prime Minister. The judicial power belongs to the system of Courts comprising the Constitutional Court, theSupreme Court and federal courts.
Our country has a multiparty system. The largest and mostinfluential political parties are the «Unity», the Communist party, the «Fatherland-All Russia», «The Union of the Right Forces», «The Apple», Liberal-Democratic and some others.
Theforeign policy of the Russian Federation is that of international cooperation, peace and friendship with all nations irrespective of their political and social systems.
Vocabulary:
to occupy— занимать
surface — поверхность
total area — общая площадь
to border on — граничить с
numerous— многочисленные
steppes — степи
taiga — тайга
highlands — горные возвышенности
the Urals — Уральские горы
the Caucasus— Кавказ
climate conditions — климатические условия
moderate — умеренный
ore —руда
ferrous and non-ferrous metals — черные и цветные металлы
state — государство
to comprise — включать, охватывать
banner — знамя, флаг
legislative — законодательный
executive — исполнительная
judicial — судебная
Federal Assembly — Федеральное Собрание
the Council of Federation — Совет Федерации
State Duma — Государственная Дума
Supreme Court — Верховный суд
influential — влиятельный
foreign policy — международная политика
irrespective — независимо
General understanding:
1. Is Russia the largest country in the world?
2. What oceans wash the borders of the Russian Federation?
3. How many countries have borders with Russia?
4. Are Russian flora and fauna various?
5. What are the highest mountains in Russia?
6. What is Baikal famous for?
7. What is the climate inRussia like?
8. What is the national symbol of Russia?
9. What does the Federal Assembly consist of?
10. Who is the head of each Chamber of the Federal Assembly?
Exercise 5.1. Translate into English:
1. Общая площадь Российской федерации составляет более 17 миллионов километров.
2. В мире вряд ли есть еще одна страна с такой разнообразной флорой и фауной.
3. Озеро Байкал — самое глубокое озеро на земном шаре и служит предметом гордости россиян.
4. На территории Российской федерации существует 11 часовых поясов.
5. Россия является конституционной республикой с президентской формой правления.
6. Законадательная власть принадлежит Федеральному Собранию, состоящему из двух палат.
7. В Российском парламенте представлены такие партии, как «Единство», КПРФ, «Отечество—Вся Россия», «Яблоко», СПС, ЛДПР.
8. Законодательная и судебная власти прямо не подчиняются Президенту.
Exercise 5.2. How well do you know your Homeland?
What is (are):
• the biggest Russian lake?
• the longest Russian river (in European and Asian parts of the Russian Federation)?
• a city with subtropical climate?
• cities with arctic climate?
• agricultural regions?
• old historical cities?
• places of recreation and tourism?
Text B: «MOSCOW»
Moscow is the capital and largest city of Russia. It is also the capital of Moscow Oblast, and it stands on the Moskva River. Moscow is the economic, political and cultural centre of Russia. Railways and numerous airlines link the city with all parts of Russia. Navigable waterways, including the Moscow Canal, Moskva River, and Volga-Don Canal, make the port areas of the city directly accessible to shipping from the Baltic, White, Black, and Caspian seas and the Sea of Azov.
Moscow covers an area of about 880 sq.km. Concentric boulevards divide the city into several sections. At the centre of the concentric circles (and semicircles) are the Kremlin, the former governmental seat of Russia, and adjacent Red Square, which form the centre of a radial street pattern. Moscow has a modern underground system famous for its marble-walled stations.
Situated on the north bank of the Moskva River, the Kremlin is the dominant landmark of Moscow. A stone wall, up to 21 m in height and 19 towers, surrounds this triangular complex of former palaces, cathedrals, and other monuments of tsarist times, some of them dating from the Middle Ages. The Great Kremlin Palace, completed in 1849, is the most imposing structure within the Kremlin. Other notable Kremlin palaces are the Granovitaya Palace (1491) and the Terem (1636).
Among many cathedrals, now used mainly as museums, are the Cathedral of the Assumption (Успения) and the Archangel Cathedral, each with five gilded domes, and the Cathedral of the Annunciation (Благовещения) (13th-14th century), with nine gilded domes. Another landmark of the Kremlin is the Tower of Ivan the Great, a bell tower 98 m high. On a nearby pedestal is the Tsar's Bell (nearly 200 tons), one of the largest in the world. A recent addition to the Kremlin is the Palace of Congresses, completed in 1961. In this huge modern building were held meetings of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and congresses of the Communist party of the Soviet Union; theatrical and other artistic performances have been held here as well.
St Basil's Cathedral, famous for its unique architecture and coloured domes, stands at one end of Red Square.
One of the best-known sections of Moscow is the Kitaigorod (Chinese City), the ancient commercial quarter lying to the east of the Kremlin. This section is now the site of many government office buildings. Other points of interest in Moscow include the Central Lenin Stadium, comprising about 130 buildings for various sports and the tall Ostankino TV tower, which contains a revolving restaurant and an observation platform.
General understanding:
1. Where is Moscow located?
2. Is Moscow a port city?
3. How is Moscow divided into sections?
4. What is known about Moscow Underground system?
5. What are the places of interest in Moscow?
6. Why is the Kremlin the most important place of interest for tourists?
7. What Russian Orthodox cathedrals are situated inside the Kremlin?
8. What is Palace of Congresses used for at present time?
Exercise 5.3. Where are these places of interest situated?
* Granovitaya Palace
* Terem
* the Red Square
* the Kremlin
* the Great Kremlin Palace
* the Cathedral of the Assumption
* the Archangel Cathedral
* the Cathedral of the Annunciation
* the Tower of Ivan the Great
* the Tsar's Bell
* the Palace of Congresses
* St Basil's Cathedral
* the Central Lenin Stadium
Exercise 5.4. Please, write a short story about your visit to Moscow. The following questions will certainly help you:
1) Have you ever been to Moscow?
2) If yes, when was it?
3) Was it a business trip or a pleasure tour?
4) Did you fly, take a bus or a train to Moscow?
5) What railway station (airport) did you arrive at?
6) What was your first impression of Moscow?
7) What places of interest have you visited?
8) Where did you stay in Moscow?
9) How long did you stayed in Moscow?
10) Did you enjoy your visit to Moscow?
GRAMMAR
§1. Времена английского глагола.
Таблица временных форм глагола
| TENSE ВРЕМЯ | Indefinite (Simple) Простое | Continuous Длительное | Perfect Завершенное |
| Present Настоящее | I write Я пишу (вообще, обычно) | I am writing Я пишу (сейчас) | I have written Я (уже) написал |
| Past Прошедшее | I wrote Я(на)писал (вчера) | I was writing Я писал (в тот момент) | I had written Я написал (уже к тому моменту) |
| Future Будущее | I shall/will write Я напишу, буду писать (завтра) | I shall/will be writing Я буду писать (в тот момент) | I shall/will have written Я напишу (уже к тому моменту) |
Глаголы в формах Indefinite (Simple) описывают обычные, повторяющиеся действия как факт — безотносительно ких длительности или к результату действия:
I go to school every day. — Я хожу в школу каждый день. В этом высказывании интересует не время, потраченное на дорогу, не процесс движения, не результат походов, а сам факт: я хожу в школу, а не на работу.
То же самое относится к прошедшему времени и к будущему:
I went to school when I was a boy. — Я ходил в школу, когда был мальчиком.
I shall go to school when I grow up. —Я буду ходить в школу, когда вырасту.
Отрицательная и вопросительная формы в Indefinite образуются при помощи вспомогательных глаголовdo, does, did с частицей not, краткая форма:don't, doesn't, didn't. Порядок слов прямой. Вопросительные предложения образуются, как правило, простой перестановкой подлежащего и вспомогательного глагола. Вопросительные местоимения при этом стоят всегда впереди.